The footsteps were soft and slow, as if someone was trying to be discreet. Another set of footsteps rang out on the stone, these new ones much louder.
“Shh!” a voice hissed. “I can’t see any guards, but we have to be careful.”
“Sorry.”
Loren’s heart hammered in her chest and her blood rushed in her ears. She was sure these strangers could hear her. Soon they would find her, they would pull her out and hand her to the queen. Loren held her breath and willed these people to pass her by.
“Have you seen her yet?”
“I haven’t, these cells are empty.”
“She has to be here somewhere.”
“Didn’t Seraphis say she was in Haedria’s chambers?”
“Yeah, but we saw Haedria walking around. She left the throne room.”
There was a frustrated sigh.
“Fine, if she’s not here then we have to check the queen’s quarters. If Loren’s there, then…”
“We’re going to die.”
“All of us, even Loren.” The voice paused. When it continued, the voice cracked with emotion. “She can’t die here. I won’t let her die here. We have to save her, so help me look!”
Loren slowly uncurled from her position by the wall. She thought the voices were familiar, and the last one confirmed it. But it was impossible, her friends were dead. Both wary and curious, the princess inched towards the bars of her cell. Her hand brushed the silver dragon pendant that lay where she left it. She refused to pick it up.
“Kae?” Loren whispered. “Cassendir?”
Both of the footsteps stopped suddenly, frozen to the spot.
“Loren?” Kae whispered back. The fear in her voice was palpable.
“Kae! Kae, I’m here!” Loren said, holding a hand out through the bars. When a familiar hand — calloused from years of firing arrows — reached out and held her own, the princess could not hold back her tears. She gripped Kae’s hand tightly, afraid it would be the last time. “You’re here!”
Kae smiled with relief, but tears also fell. She knelt by the bars, holding squeezing Loren’s hand just as hard and reaching in to caress the princess’s cheek. “I’m here, princess. You can thank Seraphis for that, I’ll tell you all about it later. Can you walk? We need to leave.”
Loren pressed Kae’s hand to her cheek, unwilling to let go. She nodded urgently but made no move to leave. “You’re here.” She said again, whispering with disbelief. “I thought you were dead. I thought I was alone.”
“You’re not alone, Loren. I said I would be with you, didn’t I?” Kae said gently. “No matter what.”
Cassendir rushed over, muttering a quiet greeting to the princess, and began work on the lock of the cell with shaking hands. The scholar kept looking over his shoulder, several times a minute, and his hands shook as he fiddled with some tools. After being unable to pick the lock, the blue glow of his magic appeared as he focused some spell to spring the lock open.
“Hold on, Loren. We’re getting you out, and we’re going home.” Kae whispered.
Cassendir sent his magic into the lock in such a panic that it not only unlocked it, it blew the lock clean off the bars with a loud bang, causing it to shatter in midair and clatter all across the stone floor.
“Cassendir!” The huntress winced, her expression pained. Her hand flew to a stolen dagger on her belt and she quickly pulled the door open. “Come on princess, we have to hurry before guards come.”
Loren eagerly spilled out of the cell, almost falling onto Cassendir in her haste. Kae was about to turn away when a glint of something shiny on the floor caught her eye. She crouched and picked up the dragon pendant. “Loren! Your pendant?”
“Leave it!” Loren snapped. Her voice was filled with such urgency and hatred that Kae almost did drop the silver pendant. She nodded to the princess, and all Loren heard was a clattering on the floor.
“How did you get in?” Loren whispered. She clutched at Kae’s hand, instinctively hiding behind the huntress and keeping to the shadows cast by the torches. “I was sure Seraphis had killed you.”
“She didn’t. She was the one who told us how to sneak back in, where to look, even told one of her men to look the other way.” Kae whispered back. She squeezed Loren’s hand reassuringly and held the dagger at the ready. “But she can only help so much. Ma’trii and our escape route is at the kennels. We just have to cross the throne room again.”
“The throne room?”
Loren stopped and stood rooted to the spot. When Kae turned to tell her to hurry, to not stop because their lives depended on it, the look of horror in the princess’s eyes had drained her face of color. Loren’s gaze was far to the distance, the memory of Haedria and her flames playing over and over again in her mind. The princess shook her head, and stepped back. “No. I’m sorry Kae, I can’t go back there again. Please, don’t make me go back there.”
The huntress didn’t sigh. She didn’t roll her eyes, she didn’t stomp her foot.
Kae handed the dagger to Cassendir and took both of Loren’s hands in her own. She looked the princess in the eyes and mustered up as much steel in her voice as she could, even if it meant faking her bravado. “Loren. I know you’re scared, I am too. I know
